True Noir
by akabins
Summary: *Similar A/U* After the incidents at Hell's Gate, Contractors have changed, and dolls have evolved. Left with broken memories, Yin awakens in a field, only to escape the military massacre of hundreds. Struggling to discover her identity and find her place in a new world, a new life begins when she meets the familiar Hei, and joins the secret family of remaining Children of the Gat
1. One: Done For

**A/N: The first chapter of a short fic. Similar Universe after season 1. Please read and enjoy! :)**

I closed my eyes, and everything changed. What was before no longer existed, and what lay before me was unknown. I remembered slices of what had happened in my previous life; the beauty of cold moonlight on my skin, a trickling piano melody that swooped and soared like birds at midnight, and a smile, a smile that shook my to my core. A smile I could never, ever forget.

_"He smiled at me, and I knew I was done for." _Who had said that to me?

Everything else was gone, wiped away from me like the falling stars in the night sky. Who I was, what I was called, even my location were details that seemed just out of my grasp. Only, sometimes they shimmered so closely. When I thought of that smile.

When I woke up I was in a field of flowers so beautiful, flowers I'd never seen before. They glimmered in the sun and their scent drifted over me. I looked around to find many more people waking up, all of them lying down, strewn across the field. A giant wall stood behind us. A name tickled my mind. _Hell's Gate_. How could a place so beautiful be called such a thing? Small tears streamed down my face as I watched those around me awaken and gape with wonder. I was being flooded with emotions that I knew I hadn't felt in a long time.

Then the sky fell. Even in the bright sunlight, the falling stars glowed. Maybe they weren't stars after all, but just fragments of a meteor raining down upon us. I looked around. I didn't recognize anyone surrounding me. They were all nameless faces caught in the confusion of what was happening. Did anyone else remember? I tried to talk to some of them, but it was as if they were stuck in this moment, and the falling sky held them captive.

But even though what I was seeing was so incredible, so monumental, something else within me was driving me. It was telling me to get out, to get away from here. But where? I didn't even have time to answer that question.

Men in black gear were soon upon us, ploughing through the flower fields with heavy vehicles. They had guns and explosives. They rounded us up, killing anyone who tried to flee. Bullets sang and blood stained the ground. I ran. I ran so quickly and without direction, I don't know how I got away, but I did. I would learn later that everyone who woke up in that field in Hell's Gate was shot and killed, their bodies disposed of in a ditch somewhere far beyond the Wall.

I still don't know how I got away, but I knew I wasn't safe, even when I reached the Wall and found a small tunnel that lead to the other side. Someone was bound to be looking for me. After all, I should've been dead, just like all the others. Except for the voice that told me, _run!_

I laid low for awhile, hiding in back alleys and eating whatever scraps I could find. Military vehicles poured through the streets, looking for anyone suspicious. The city itself was in disrepair; its people hardened and broken, its buildings crumbling. Soon, the vehicles stopped patrolling, and the zone was declared 'safe'. Safe from what? Safe from me? My clothes were in tatters. My hair was a nest of tangles and knots. I didn't know where to go next. What would I do now? Where could I go?

_There are others like you. Find them._

I walked the streets, begging for money, begging for help, for anything, but everyone was too afraid. The military had placed strict sanctions for anyone caught harboring a fugitive from the Wall. Somehow, people could smell it on me, see it in my eyes. I wasn't normal. I wasn't _human_. How could that be? What happened in Hell's Gate?

But then everything changed again. The life I'd thought was going to be spent broken and alone was turned upside down with one simple action.

I was lying on the grass in the park, looking up at the new stars. I guess they were the old stars, but I'd never seen them before. I thought I was alone, but then I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't bother turning around until I heard a voice.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

I turned to look at the speaker. He was tall and lean, with shaggy black hair and haunting blue eyes. His voice was raspy and melodic at the same time, like a sad song. He sat down beside me, and for some reason it felt... right. Like we'd done this so many times before.

"How do you know they're real?" I asked after a moment. He looked at me curiously, digesting my question.

"I guess we can't know whether or not they're real, not for sure. But that doesn't mean we can't admire them and enjoy them, right?" he said. I nodded, and we both stretched out on the grass.

"I think they're beautiful," I said. He nodded with a deep breath. Who was he, and why was he here? He wasn't a street dweller like me. His light blue button-up was clean, and he smelled like fresh linen.

"Listen, I need to tell you something, and it's going to seem strange, but please hear me out. I don't know how, but I feel like I know you, or knew you in another life. There is something about you that... called out to me. You're like me, aren't you?"

I processed his words, trying to figure out what he meant. Like him.

"What do you mean, like you?" I asked.

"A contractor. Or at least, what used to be a contractor. Ever since the Gate Incident things have changed. We've changed. The military is trying to get rid of us, but they can't. Not if we band together. I want you to join us. I know things are scary right now and you don't know me, but if you could trust me, I can show you a better life. A life with people who understand. What do you think?"

Contractor. Gate Incident. A better life. All of these words were so familiar and yet so alien. A better life. Anything was better than the way I was existing now. I sat up and looked at him, a stare that felt natural. He didn't look away.

"I think I'd like that," I replied, "but I don't know how I can help. I don't even know my own name."

"Don't ask me how I know this, because I can't explain it, but I think your name is Yin," he said.

Yin. It felt like the missing puzzle piece I'd been searching for. Yin. I nodded.

"Yin... it feels right. Yes, I'll come with you. What are you called?" I asked.

"Hei," he replied.

And then he smiled at me, his lips curling and his eyes stuck on mine.

And I knew I was done for.


	2. Two: Keys

They called themselves The Children of the Gate. I guess technically I was one of them. Children was the right word, when it came to describing us. With not one of us having full memories, we had to work together to string along the remnants of the past. We were once humans, then beings from the Gate: contractors and dolls, and then something happened, and we all changed.

After the night I met Hei, he brought me to the headquarters of the CoG. He handed me over to a sleepy-looking redhead and promised she would take care of me.

"I'll be seeing you around, Yin," he said before disappearing. The woman in charge of me introduced herself as Scarlet. She said it wasn't her real name, but she needed to be called something, so why not that? I watched Hei walking away, and she smiled.

"He's an interesting contractor, that's for sure. Try not to get too involved with him, though. He'll break your pretty little heart," she said. I feigned ignorance. I couldn't explain to her just what I was feeling right now. The pain of losing my life, of the weeks spent in the streets, of whatever was happening to me now. Or maybe I just didn't want to explain it to her. I wasn't ready to feel all of these new things that kept popping into me. It was like my heart was moving for the first time.

"I'm just happy to have a clean place to sleep," I answered quietly. She stepped back and assessed me. Even this late at night and in her dressing gown, she was gorgeous. She held the type of beauty that only older women can have. She felt... safe.

"Speaking of clean, we should get you scrubbed up before anything else. I'd kill that bastard for bringing you in at this time of night, but I won't be getting back to sleep now, anyway. Follow me."

She led me into the depths of the large old mansion that the Children had claimed. The wallpaper inside was shredded and faded, and abandoned furniture littered the hallways.

"How did you get this place?" I asked. Ahead of me, Scarlet shrugged.

"It used to be a brothel until the owner was in some kind of accident. We took it over. Some of our members still pose on the street to keep up the illusion so that we can be safe," she said. It seemed complicated to me. I had a hundred more questions about how the group worked, made money, and what their ultimate plans were, but it was late and quiet, and I didn't want to wake anyone else up.

She led me up sets and sets of winding stairs, each landing leading off into another wing of the house. Finally, we reached the top, where there was a large bathroom. She turned on the lights, and I was surprised to see how white and clean it was inside. She sauntered over to the pristine bathtub and began running the water, filling it with pink, sudsy soap from a silver container.

"Get yourself cleaned up, and leave your clothes in that hamper over there. We'll get you some new clothes that suit you better. I'll leave the light on in the bedroom across the hall. That one will be yours. There are towels in the closet and I'll leave a dressing gown out for you on your bed for you to sleep in."

I nodded, and as the heat from the tub water filled the room, I couldn't help the tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't want Scarlet to see, but she rushed over to me and wrapped me in her arms. She smelled so good, it made me feel even dirtier. "Why are you crying, sweetie?" she asked.

"I'm... glad," I replied. I was. In one night my life had changed from solitary street wanderer to warm water and clean clothes. It was overwhelming. Scarlet kissed me on the forehead before leaving the room.

"I'll send someone up to get you for breakfast. For now, just get yourself clean and get some rest," she said.

I stripped off my clothes and threw them in the hamper. It felt relieving to get rid of them, like shedding old skin. I couldn't help but stop and stare at myself in the mirror. It wasn't just the grime that shocked me, but how much my body was changing. Even though my frame was still thin as ever, my breasts had grown larger, and were now round and plump, and my hips had curves added to them. I no longer looked like a little girl.

I lowered myself into the hot bath, ignoring the initial burn of water until my skin tingled with pleasure. I scrubbed myself squeaky, washed the dirt from my hair and face, and let myself finally relax. The water felt like a second skin, like it was so natural to just... be a part of it.

I had no idea how much my life would continue to change. This was just the beginning.

I woke with the sun, feeling light and refreshed even after such a short sleep. I hadn't realized how sore my back was from sleeping on the ground until now. After my bath, I'd fallen asleep right away, not bothering to shimmy on the nightdress at the end of the bed. I laid there a few minutes, absorbing what was happening to me. The promise of breakfast made my stomach rumble.

I stood up and shook off my blankets just as a knock rapped my door. I was just about to call out when the door creaked open. I let out a scream as I tried to cover my body. When I looked up, Hei was standing in the doorway, gaping at me, mouth open and cheeks flushed red. We stood there a moment in shock before he whirled around and slammed the door behind him.

"I apologize. I thought you would still be sleeping," he called through the door. Blushing, I quickly grabbed the nightgown at the edge of the bed and slipped it on. It was hardly better than being naked; it was short and slightly transparent, but it was far less humiliating than what had just happened. I sighed before deciding to toss a blanket over my shoulders as well.

"It's okay, it was an accident. Come in," I called. The door slid open slowly this time, and Hei's eyes didn't dare pass over me. He was cute with his pink cheeks and eyes on the floor. I giggled a little, and he forced on an embarrassed smile. "You know, it's only fair that it's your turn now," I said. His eyes widened, but I couldn't hold in my laughter.

"You're a funny girl, Yin," he said. His eyes still wandered to my breasts, where my nipples showed through my thin nightgown. For some reason, I didn't mind. Actually, I liked it.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. I motioned for him to sit down next to me on the bed. The door was open, so it wasn't a strange thing, right? His weight next to me sunk the bed in a little.

"A long time, I guess. Since the change. I was lucky. I didn't have to go through what you did to find others like us," he replied. It seemed like forever ago that I was dirty and downtrodden. The wonders of hot water and soap.

"I was lucky, too. I got away from the Gate. Lots of others didn't make it out alive," I said sombrely. He turned to face me.

"You were inside the Gate when the massacre began? How did you get out?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Something inside me told me to run, so I did. I found an old tunnel through the Wall and hid until they announced it was safe. Then you found me."

We looked at each other for a moment, both remembering the horrors of what had happened, when the remainder of the door flew open, and a very pissed-off Scarlet stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. For a second it seemed like her eyes glowed as red as her hair.

"Hei, what in the world are you doing bothering this poor girl?" she half-screeched. Hei ran a hand through his hair, chuckling awkwardly.

"I-uh-just wanted to see how she was doing," he replied. Scarlet looked unimpressed.

"The poor girl barely got any sleep and now she has to wake up to your pestering," she muttered.

"No, I was already awake. It's okay, I don't mind," I cut in. Scarlet sighed.

"You kids. I'll never understand your logic." She was holding a bag that looked to be filled with clothes. Hei turned back to me.

"Listen, I'll see you at breakfast, okay?" he said. I nodded. He mock bowed to Scarlet on his way out the door, which Scarlet closed behind him.

"Tell me the truth," she said, "was he bothering you?" I shook my head no, deciding not to indulge the details of our brief run-in. Even the thought brought a pleasant smile to my lips. Scarlet set about pulling things out of the large bag. There were underwear sets and dresses and pants and tops, just about everything I would need. She even brought a beautiful hairbrush. Under her watchful eye, I chose a simple outfit—dark jeans and plum tank top. It was sure to be hot out today. She brushed my hair for me and pulled it into a high ponytail.

"Thank you for everything," I said when we were finished and looking at the result in the mirror. She smiled, finally.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie, this is what I do. You'll be starting your training and everything soon, so if you need anything else, you come find me, okay?" she replied. I nodded, but before she left, I had one more question.

"Scarlet, why is it so bad for Hei to be near me?" I asked. The question caused her to raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, honey. It's not bad for him to be near you, but it just can't happen. You see, Hei can't develop any relationship that's too personal. It would be a liability for the rest of us. He is our combat leader, after all," she said.

After she left, I let the words echo in my mind.

_Our leader_.

_Liability_.

_It just can't happen_.

I follow the rich smell of pancakes down the stairs, until I find the dining room. A large table is set up, and many others are already sitting and chatting with each other. I take a minute to survey the room. Smiles light up their faces as they gab and gossip, and large silver pans stuffed with cakes and fruit lie in the center of the table.

"You must be Yin," a deep voice sounds behind me. I turn to find a guy about my age, with blond hair and purple fringe covering his forehead. His eyes shine a light copper as he smiles at me.

"That's me," I replied. He held out his hand for mine, shaking it gently.

"My name is Claude. Scarlet asked me to help you out today," he said. He steered me toward the breakfast table where we sat at an empty corner. Hei was nowhere to be seen yet.

"So, is every meal this huge?" I asked once we were seated. No one had started eating yet, but it smelled beyond heavenly.

"Pretty much. We all work pretty hard, so a good meal helps us keep strong. Training can be tough on the body and mind," he responded. I turned to him.

"I keep hearing everyone talk about training. What kind of training?" I asked. Claude was about to reply when a hush took over the room. I followed the others' eyes to see Hei walking into the room. He looked... different. He was dressed in black combat gear with knives stuffed into utility belts around his thighs. His face was also darker, more pensive than I'd seen. Everyone looked at him with such devotion and adoration. No one dared to speak.

"Good Morning," he said. He stood at the head of the table while the rest of the Children hustled to their seats. He looked about the room, but his eyes didn't stop on me like I was hoping. "We have a few new members, so please help in making them feel welcome. I have some news from our sources, but let's eat first," he said. We all dug in, and the mood of the room returning to casual and chatty.

"Do you want some orange juice?" Claude asked. I nodded and he expertly poured me a glass. Even though the food smelled so good, my stomach was still shrunken from eating so little for so long. I barely finished a pancake with some fruit before my tummy started growling in protest. Claude's plate was still stacked with food and his mouth was stuffed.

"I'm full," I stated, patting my little belly.

"You eat like a little bird," Claude replied, his mouth still half-full. I couldn't help but giggle.

"And you eat like a bear," I pointed out. He grinned, not noticing the bits of syrup dripping from his lips. I looked over at Hei again, who had already finished off four plates of food. What gave them such huge appetites? For a second I thought I caught Hei's eyes rest on mine, but then he dug his face back into his food. I don't know why I expected him to pay special attention to me. Obviously it was a leader's job to make all members feel welcome.

Claude told me he'd been with the Children since it was founded, but he spent more time training himself than helping others.

"We need to make sure we're as strong as we can be," he said.

"Strong for what, though?" I asked. A sad look crossed Claude's face, then disappeared.

"The war isn't over. The military still wants to eradicate us all from existence. That's why it's so important that we rekindle our skills. We need to be able to stand against them when they decide to strike."

Strike? It all seemed so strange to me. We were safe here, and if the military hadn't hit yet, when we were surely at our weakest, why would they wait? I didn't even know what kind of skills I had, or used to have. Claude seemed to gather his thoughts before speaking again.

"You shouldn't be afraid, Yin. Together we're much stronger than they are. We just need to focus and find what they took from us. Our memories, our lives. We need to provide retribution for the genocide of contractors beyond the Gate," he said.

"Is that the plan, then? We get strong and take down the human military?" I questioned. Even though I'd seen the horrors and the deaths up-close, somehow I didn't feel that revenge was the key. Humans were already afraid of us enough as it was without adding more fuel to the fire. To my surprise, Claude shook his head.

"It should be the plan, but it isn't. Hei won't let that happen. He believes we can forge a future without retaliation, but I think he's being insane and naive. I'm not the only one," he said. I didn't say anything for awhile. I didn't know what to say. Finally, Hei stood up at the front of the room with Scarlet, and the room fell into silence once more.

"Thank you for your patience. Our latest intel tells us that the military has a pinpoint on one of our smaller safehouses. We'll be systematically moving everyone throughout the day, so there might be some more new faces around us." He looked around the room again, his face stern, his eyes unreadable.

"We have a rat. I don't know a better way to say it, so please be careful when sharing information. Someone has begun leaking locations to the military. I don't know why, as it puts each and every one of our lives at stake. All I can say is that this person, when caught, will have to answer to me personally," he finished. I was expecting more, but Hei simply put down his fork and walked out of the room. Scarlet tried to bustle everyone into a good mood, but the damage was done. Someone in the group, maybe even someone here right now, was leaking information. Everyone was suspect.

"I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that glare," Claude muttered. I wouldn't either. I'd never have thought Hei to be so... hostile. And yet, that deadly stare stirred something within me. Something I'd never felt before. But it was futile anyway, I could never share anything with him, not with his responsibilities. Claude seemed to sense it in me, and gave me a sly look.

"Someone has their eye on teacher," he teased. My cheeks flushed bright red.

"I'm just... thankful to him, that's all," I replied. Claude chuckled, then patted my back cheerfully.

"I'm just kidding. Listen, I've got to get you to your first training session so we can figure out what your power is. Are you ready?" I nodded and stood up with him. My power. How was it that I could have had power and not remembered it?

What if I didn't really have a power at all?

The keys melted beneath my fingers, my hands entwining them in a soft, lyrical dance. The piano was a need, it was something I had to play, like a drug. The song was so familiar, so much a part of me. I closed my eyes and let the melody ring throughout the deserted study where I'd found the baby grand.

I understood that this was my price, the payment I had to make every time I used my power. I didn't remember how we discovered it, I'd just been run through a series of tests until eventually, a part of me split away. All of a sudden I was in the field outside the gate, standing in a small river. The bodies were gone. The fields looked... peaceful again. How could that be?

After I returned, the trainers told me that I used to be a doll, that my life was meant for the servitude of others. They didn't know how I'd turned into a contractor. It wasn't anything they'd ever seen before. Then the urge came. I needed to play. My fingers needed to tickle the ivories of a piano. We found this one and dusted it off, then they left me alone to pay my price. Even though I'd finished my payment, I kept playing. I lost myself in it, forgot about the upcoming training sessions and war and revenge. Forgot about the knowledge that I'd once been a mindless slave. I stopped playing when I heard footsteps outside of the room.

"Please don't stop," a deep voice echoed. I looked back to see Hei, his hair wet and hanging over his face, his body slouched as if he was in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I was about to get up, but he lurched forward and sat beside me on the bench.

"Nothing I can't handle. Please keep playing," he said.

I did. I played that song over and over, deeper and deeper, until eventually the dark contractor beside me slipped sideways, his head falling into my lap. There was blood on his clothes, and sweat in his hair, but he looked so peaceful, sleeping like that. I wiped his face with a piece of cloth and the glass of water on the piano, and let him rest, stroking his hair the entire time.

We were never meant to be close, but there was something that kept driving us together. I was just a doll finding her life again, and he was a killer with an entire race depending on him, but together, we would become more than that.

But not yet.

There was still so much more we would have to go through until we could be happy.


	3. Three: Safe

We move on, powerless in the churning rivers of time, and things that were once strange become familiar, become home.

The Great House, as headquarters was called, was a sprawling mansion with secrets tucked away in every corner. There were stacked bookshelves on every floor covered with history tomes and thick, dusty novels. I wanted to leaf through all of them, even if just to see what lay inside, but we were all advised not to touch anything that wasn't ours. It was against policy. A lot of things were against policy.

Training began to take up my day, and not just training my ability, but physical training as well. Every morning we travelled in armoured cars to the mountains, where we ran through the trails together. Children were usually paired with their peers, but since there wasn't another doll-turned-contractor, I usually made the jog myself.

I loved running. There was something about being alone with my thoughts in the crisp morning air that was so refreshing and beautiful. I could forget about the past, even if just for an hour. I started getting up earlier and running through the dark streets, meeting the rest at the drop-off location. No one noticed I wasn't in the vehicles.

No one wanted to talk about the security situation. Too many Children were ending up in traps, too many safe houses destroyed, too many internal questions. No one wanted to believe that one of us would give each other away. After all, we were all comrades, all equal. What could one gain by joining up with a human Government or Syndicate?

One morning I woke up before the sun and dressed myself in my usual running gear. I'd amassed quite a collection of clothing over the weeks, none of it new, but all of it new to me. I shuffled quietly down the stairs, but I'd been found out; Claude was waiting for me by the front door, a large grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He pulled up a foot in a stretch.

"I'm coming running with you. It can't be nice running alone every morning," he replied. I smiled back, but something rubbed me the wrong way as we began walking down the dark streets. It was as if his motives had nothing to do with my wellbeing, but for his satisfaction in letting me know that he knew my secret. Maybe he'd been put up to it to make sure I wasn't leaking information.

Soon all of that fled my mind as the running took over. My focus moved to my breath, my pace, the pounding of the pavement beneath my feet.

"How is your training going?" Claude asked once we left the suburbs and were surrounded by forest. I didn't like to talk and run, but I slowed to a jog to make up for the lost air.

"I start combat this week," I replied. He chuckled.

"I don't know why they're putting everyone through that. It's not like half of them need it. Annie can blow fireballs from her mouth, I don't think knowing proper stances is going to be a big deal for her," he said.

"And what if she comes up against someone stronger?" I retorted without thinking. Claude just laughed harder.

"Who is she going to fight stronger than her? Some goons in the military? Think about it, Yin. No one is stronger than contractors. We could easily create a functioning society within the Government if we just showed a little bit of muscle," he said.

I wiped sweat from my brow. Was he trying to test my loyalty with these statements? Or was he really feeling this way? The Creed of the Children of the Gate was strictly against harming humans unless absolutely necessary for survival. He seemed to sense what I was thinking.

"Come on, don't tell me it doesn't make you angry that the military killed all of those contractors without a thought in the world. It wasn't even a fair fight. Half of them were asleep, I heard."

"I know what happened. I was there," I responded, then curbed back my hostile tone. Why was this upsetting me so much? "It doesn't make me angry, it just makes me... sad. There has to be a reason why humans would strike. That reason was probably fear, which just leads to the question of why they were so afraid of contractors before the Change."

"You were there? How did you escape?" he asked. I didn't bother to answer. I was tired of trying to explain how I'd made it out of the massacre alive. Most of the time I felt like the others were angry at me for living when their own loved ones had been killed.

"Fine, then. But to answer your question, the Government was obviously afraid of the power contractors had. Maybe there was even a war for supremacy, who knows. Why do we hide who we are?" he said.

"Because we have to. We're not ready to be public yet, not until we can properly transition back into society," I replied.

"Do you honestly just swallow everything they feed you? Do you not have any of your own opinions? Honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were just a doll."

The phrase stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn't remember life as a doll, but even hearing the word being applied to me caused my stomach to lurch and my blood to boil. _Calm down_, I told myself, _he's just a hot head_. But it wasn't easy. I could feel the anger taking me over. I felt like my other self was taking control, my specter, and I was just slowly slipping away. Until I heard his voice.

"Yin! Are you okay?"

I fought to stay conscious, but I still crumbled to the ground. I saw two sets of boots running toward me. Strong arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me upright.

"Hei," I murmured, my head still swimming. He put his hand across my forehead, wiping the sweat away, then he turned to Claude, who was standing a few feet away.

"What the hell did you do to her?" he growled. Claude threw up his hands in defense.

"Nothing, I swear! We were just jogging and she blanked out," he said. Liar.

"I thought I told you to make sure she came with the car," Hei stated angrily. Claude just shrugged.

"Look, I figured if she had company she couldn't get into any trouble."

My head was still fuzzy, but I wrestled myself out of Hei's arms.

"You wanted me followed?" I questioned. His eyes went blank as he searched for a reply.

"I just didn't want you out here alone in the dark. Something could happen," he said finally, but the damage was done.

"You don't trust me," I accused. I stumbled backward. I didn't want to be near either of them, and I could feel something trying to grab me and take me over from the inside.

"That's not it at all Yin, I swear," he began, but I was in no state to hear him. I couldn't move anymore. I was paralyzed.

"Maybe you should have just let her run when she wanted to," Claude quipped. Hei was staring at me, his eyes widening as he realized something was happening to me.

"Just shut up! We need to get her back to the house, now," he said. White wisps shrouded my vision, then took over my mind.

All I could hear over the next ten minutes was Hei's worried voice. "Just hang on, Yin." Then everything went dark.

...

I woke up in my bedroom, my body aching and my mind clouded. Scarlet and Hei were sitting by the end of my bed, talking gravely. When they heard me rouse, both leapt up to my side. How long had I been out? I blushed when I realized I was in a nightgown. Had Hei been around when my clothes had been changed?

"How are you feeling?" Scarlet asked, her voice motherly.

"Sore. Groggy. What happened?" I asked. Scarlet's face fell and she looked to Hei.

"We don't know. We think maybe your abilities might have gone rogue," he said.

I thought about the running incident. I remembered feeling absolutely helpless. I remembered feeling... out of control. Was this my ability _going rogue_? What did that even mean?

"What do I do about that?" I asked after fully digesting it. Before anyone could answer, a young man arrives at my door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Scarlet, but the new recruits are here," he stated.

"I have to attend to this. I'll be back to check on you later, Yin," Scarlet said before rushing off with the man. Hei and I were now alone. I looked at him expectantly.

"We'll just have to keep observing," he said finally. Right. So he didn't know anything either. I sighed. This was all becoming too much.

"Hei, why don't you trust me?" I asked. His eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"I just want to keep you safe," he replied. I turned my head away from him and gazed out my window, where the sunlight shimmered on dust particles.

"But you need to trust me. I don't want to be followed around just to make sure I'm _safe_. My runs were my own time, time to reflect on things," I responded quietly. Hei leaned forward and reached his hand out to grasp mine. His touch sent shivers down my spine, and I met his sharp, intense gaze.

"I want you to trust me, too. It's dangerous out there for us, and if something happens with your ability like that again, I don't want you to be alone," he whispered. Something soared through me, some intense emotion I couldn't yet explain, but it wasn't enough.

"What's happening? Why are we training so hard?" Hei released my hand and leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning the room distantly.

"War," he said, "there is a section of the Government known as Pandora that knows about us, that is trying to eradicate us. I don't know how we're going to get through this, to be honest. There are so many lives at stake, on both sides. I don't know how we can co-exist without violence. That, and there are some who don't believe in our Creed. They don't think contractors should be afraid of humans," he explained.

I thought about Claude and what he'd said to me this morning. Were we really supposed to be the dominant species? Somehow this thought didn't sit right with me, even if contractors were more powerful than humans.

"Claude said something like that this morning. That he thought contractors were a better evolution of humanity," I said. Hei contemplated this as if he'd thought about it so many times before.

"Claude has been with us from the beginning. As much as I know that his ideology is different, I don't think he would ever betray us. He's had too many chances to give us up. Why would he now, when we're stronger than every?" he pondered aloud.

"So what happens now?" I asked. Hei attempted a smile, though his eyes were clouded and complicated.

"We train. We prepare to fight if we have to. We stay _safe_," he said. I bit my lower lip, trying not to smile. Even though it kind of pissed me off, it was cute that he worried about me. I wonder if he worried about everyone like that.

"I'll do my best," I replied.

Hei patted the end of my bed as he stood up.

"Get some rest. Your combat training starts tomorrow, and I'm your trainer. You'll need it," he said, then left me alone in the room.

I thought there was no way I could go back to sleep now, but within minutes of quiet, my body lulled itself back into a deep slumber.

...

I woke in the middle of the night. It was cold. My window was open, and moonlight poured in. I slept through the entire day, and my body still ached. I realized suddenly that even though I hadn't summoned my powers earlier, I hadn't paid my price. Just the thought of it created sweat beads on my neck.

I shuffled downstairs to the room with the piano. My body seemed to sigh in relief as my fingers gently touched the keys. I began to play, hoping I wouldn't wake any. I fulfilled my price, and then I heard something. A voice. It was coming from the grounds right outside the room's window.

I tiptoed to the window, where I could see a tall, beautiful woman standing near the bushes. She looked like she was carved from perfect ebony, and she was speaking to... no one. I could barely make out her whispers.

"There's been an interesting development," she said, then stopped. She turned and looked right at me, and her stare sent chills down my spine. Then she smiled. It wasn't a nice smile; it was frightening, even threatening.

I ran back upstairs to my room and wrapped myself in my blankets. I tried to forget what I'd just seen, but the beautiful woman's smile followed me into my dreams.

** Thank you to everyone for reading! :D This is probably going to turn out much longer than I'd originally planned, and I have a lot planned. I'll try my best to keep posting regularly. **


	4. Chapter 4: War

War. It was the only word on everyone's lips, on everyone's minds as the days progressed. There was an incident in the city. A Contractor used her powers in broad daylight, shifting her body to steal some valuables. No one from the Children of the Gate knew who she was, or how she got away. Only that she'd created something terrible we couldn't get out of. Now, the public knew that Contractors existed, and it wouldn't be long before Pandora cracked down on us.

After all, we weren't human. We weren't meant to be in this world, were we?

Whispers filled the halls and rooms of the sprawling mansion. Fear, anger, determination, but above all, the will to fight. We had no idea what we were up against. No idea of the dangers and terror ahead.

The smirk of the woman from the garden that night stayed with me, though I had no idea who she was or what she was doing out there. I even asked Scarlett about it, but she said that security would have noticed if someone was lurking on property, and that perhaps I was just tired. But I knew what I saw, and I was sure it was something bad.

I started combat training. My first few sessions were with another member, a Contractor who could lift large vehicles with one hand. We ran and jumped and learned basic positions, and I after every session I felt so… alive. My blood pumped through my veins, and my breath reached down to my very core. I was quickly escalated to the next level.

The first morning I skipped breakfast to get there early. I knew I shouldn't train on an empty stomach, but Claude's constant presence around me was starting to bother me. After spending so much time alone, it was exhausting to have to pay attention to him all the time. He was so vain and obnoxious. I screwed up my face in distaste, then gasped as a short chuckle rang out from the front of the training studio.

I looked up to see that deadly smile, those sharp, knowing eyes and cascading black hair. My stomach jumped and I wished I'd at least stopped for a muffin or something at breakfast.

"What were you thinking?" Hei asked me. His deep voice echoed through the room. I was sitting on the floor, legs in lotus position. My cheeks flushed red.

"I was thinking how nice it is to be alone," I answered, then caught myself. Hei frowned, and his chest recoiled as if he'd been hit.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said. I shook my head furiously, my ponytail swinging.

"No, I don't mean you. It's just that… well, Claude is always around…" I trailed off. Hei finished my thought for me,

"And you're tired of listening to him talk about himself?"

I giggled, feeling guilty for laughing at my friend's expense. He was my friend, after all. He was one of the only Contractors who wasn't put off by my past or by my social awkwardness. I'd even been reading fiction to try to fine-tune the art of conversation. I'd found a stash of magazines with stories called _Rose of Maurice_, about the love between a beautiful man and a pink elephant. At first I'd thought it strange, but something about the writing drew me in, like the author was writing it just for me. I still didn't have the courage to talk to new people, but I felt that they were slowly warming up to me.

"You could say that," I replied. Hei's eyes softened at my laughter.

"You're so pretty when you smile," he said, then widened his eyes as if he wished he'd never said it. I felt the familiar fluttering in my chest as his own cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that," he added.

Other members began to file into the room, chatting in their own circles, and Hei and I pretended that nothing had been said, but I couldn't pretend that I didn't feel something at his words. Even his smell had become a comfort to me, like I was safe if I was near him. I wanted him to hold me like in all of the stories I read. I wanted to feel what it meant to be complete with someone else.

But as the room filled, he backed away from me, and the severity of our situation returned to our minds. Claude tapped my shoulder as he sat beside me, a sly grin on his mouth.

"You weren't at breakfast," he said. I shook my head, willing my secret thoughts to stay in my mind and not fly away like dandelion fluff in the wind.

"I wasn't hungry, and I wanted to do some grounding work before starting," I said. Claude chuckled.

"You're always so focused," he stated simply.

"What else is there?" I asked, but our conversations were cut as Hei drew attention to the front of the room. He pulled off the T-shirt he was wearing so that he was clothed in dark jeans and a black wife-beater. The shapeliness of his muscles and the lines of his collarbones drew my eyes. He looked around the room, his face donning that intense stare. Everyone was silent.

"We've all heard about what happened recently, but what we haven't talked about is how it affects us. Before, all we had to worry about was Pandora and their efforts, but now the stakes are higher. Now, because of this individual, the general population knows there are living Contractors, which puts the Government in a position to exterminate us as soon as possible. We cannot let this happen. We need to be prepared to fight. We cannot rely just on our abilities. Who knows what Pandora has been planning? They have resources to tap into that we can't even imagine. I need all of you to work together to keep our race from going extinct. Is that clear?"

The room nodded. Claude muttered something under his breath, but I couldn't catch what it was.

"Alright, everyone partner up."

I groaned inwardly as Claude immediately scooched closer to me. Not that I had anyone else in mind, but I knew I would have to listen to him talk about our race as superior, that we were more than humans could ever be, and I was still uncomfortable with it. Even though mankind had shown me nothing but hardship, there was still something within me that clung to some kind of faith in humans. Like an old lover or a childhood friend. I couldn't explain it, I just felt it.

We began practicing basic move sets, including how to stand and where to strike and where to block. Hei insisted repetition was key at this stage to build muscle memory, and that soon we would need to be able to assess our environments for anything that could be to our advantage or our disadvantage.

Claude was well-versed in the move set, so he helped me find the right positions, and gave me tips on where to strike. When no one was looking, he moved in close to me and whispered into my ear,

"There is so much you aren't learning about yourself." I pushed him away just as Hei walked by.

"Nice counter, Yin," he praised. Claude smiled, like he'd set it up to my advantage, but as soon as Hei was gone his mouth folded into a grimace even I wasn't supposed to see. We began to practice again.

"How do you know?" I asked after a few more rounds.

"Because there is a power within you that you aren't training. Out here, you're working your physical body, but it is your spectral body you should be training. Your power. Without it, you're just human, but with it, you're a god," he replied.

His words clung to me as I hit and blocked, hit, then blocked. _Without it, you're just human_. Did that mean I used to be human? Those words repeated in my mind again and again. Then, just as I was beginning to space out, my shoulder popped as Claude hit me—hard—and I fell to the ground with a grunt.

Hei rushed over as the room gasped, and helped me push my way up. My shoulder throbbed. He glared at Claude while he pushed around my shoulder joint with his fingers. It hurt.

"What the hell are you doing?" he growled at Claude. Instead of looking apologetic, Claude had a malicious smile on his face.

"Just proving a point," he said.

"What kind of point is that?" I interrupted. Anger seethed through me, and the only thing that kept me from spinning out of control was Hei's steady touch, the feel of his skin close to mine, the smell and comfort of his arms surrounding me. Claude just stared at us, like he could see through and know everything about us, and he found it disgusting.

"Physical training is worthless without focusing the mind," he answered finally, then walked away. The crowd surrounding us parted for him.

"I have to go after him. Go see Scarlett, and I'll come find you later," Hei whispered in my ear. He motioned to one of the members to help me, then ran off after Claude.

I stood up with the help of the others, and watched them run out of the studio and into the main house. I didn't want to think about what had just happened, or what was going to happen, or about my throbbing shoulder or Claude's angry expression. I just wanted to memorize what it felt like, to be in Hei's arms.

When darkness fell, I retreated to the study with the piano. A healer had fixed my shoulder with the touch of her hand, though I felt terrible when she had to bleed as payment. She reassured me that she was used to it, but I couldn't help but think, what a terrible price to pay for the gift of healing.

Claude wasn't at dinner. I didn't see him anywhere, actually. My inner rage had calmed into curiosity. Why had he done that? Why did he want to hurt me? I peeked out the window when I reached the study to see if the strange woman was there again, but the yard was empty. Only cool moonlight poured through the window pane and onto my skin. I breathed it in. I needed to be strong. I needed to find out how to focus my mind so that when the war came, I could fight alongside everyone else. I didn't want to rely on my spectre, who often had a mind of her own. I didn't trust her.

I stood in the middle of the room and began running through the poses I had learned. I tried to focus my mind into what I was doing, but swirls of the day kept ramming my head. I sighed in frustration.

"Close your eyes," a voice sounded. I didn't need to look up to know that it was Hei standing in the doorway. I did as he said, and when my eyes were closed and the visual intrusions of the outside world were gone, I felt my body relax, could feel my breath deeper, and slowly the events of the day seeped away from my mind.

I heard him draw close to me, felt his presence as he stood behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders, breathing with me.

"Breathe in time with me," he whispered. I waited for movement in his chest as his body closed in on mine, and timed my breathing to rise with his. Soon, all I could feel was him, and my senses of the area around me multiplied. I could hear everything, could sense the boundaries of the room without looking.

"I can sense everything," I murmured. He backed away from me, but my concentration held still. Even as he stood up, I could feel where he was, could predict where he would step next. I was completely in tune with him.

"Now stand," he said. Without opening my eyes, I rose from the spot. He was behind me, far enough away that I couldn't reach him, but still close enough to strike. I turned around as he moved slowly to the right, and used my new senses to pinpoint his location. It was almost as if I could see him, as if I had another set of eyes in my mind. Every time he adjusted his position, I changed mine. I could even sense his grin as he prepared for his _attack_.

He leaped toward me, and I held up my arms in the defense stance I'd learned. I blocked his arms, but he rebounded quickly from the side. I shifted again, ducking just in time as his arm whipped over my head. I knew he thought he had me by the triumph in his breath, and instead of leaping away as he went for my legs, I moved into his attack, knocking him off balance. Except he didn't just fall, he took me with him.

Together we flew through the air, and my eyes jolted open just as we landed on the carpet, my body straddled over his. Our faces were nearly touching, our eyes locked with each other's. I panted heavily. Neither of us moved. His body was strong and hard beneath me, his hands placed on my legs.

"Yin…" he whispered. His breath sent chills down my spine. I wanted to reach my hands up and run my fingers through his hair, to feel his skin with my lips. I wanted him to touch me. His fingers were already clasped over my hips, his breathing growing more rapid.

"What is this?" I asked quietly. My lower lip was trembling, so close to his. Even feeling him so close made my body electric. This was greater than anything I had ever read or seen. He reached his hand and placed it on my cheek, his thumb dragging down the corner of my mouth. His teeth gritted in desire.

"I don't know, but you… do something to me that I can't explain," he murmured. His hand wrapped around my neck, pulling my face toward his, but just as our lips touched, a crash from outside sent us both to our feet, panting like mad. We rushed to the window, horrified by what we saw outside.

Claude stood in front of the house, right by the gate, which had been busted open by some kind of explosion. A few members stood behind him, including the cat I had seen the other night. But where was the woman? What was happening?

"Go upstairs," Hei ordered under his breath. I nodded, realizing that this was a command from him as an officer, and that whatever had just happened… well, there was no time to think about that now.

He ran out the front door, and I obeyed him, that is, I ran up the stairs to the second floor window and pushed it open, other members groggily trudging down to see what had happened. Claude and Hei were squared off against each other outside.

"What are you doing, Claude?" Hei called out. Claude grinned, and motioned at another member. I recognized her—she could produce flames from her mouth.

"I'm doing what you never had the courage to do, Black Reaper. I'm going to fight back," Claude called back. _Black Reaper_. Why did that sound so familiar?

"Claude, this is enough. It's too dangerous on your own," Hei began, but Claude cut him off with a low cackle.

"You have to be kidding me. All of the power in the world resides in this rotting mansion and you're worried about _humans_? Don't make me laugh. You're just as doomed as the rest of them. They _will _know that Contractors are the next evolution. They will bow down to us like dogs, where they belong!" he shouted. By now, dozens of members were squished up behind me, watching with horror as the girl breathed flame onto the dying rose bushes in the garden and they burst into wildfire.

"We need to do something!" a girl shouted from behind me.

For me, the room was growing dim. My heart flooded with anger at Claude, at his ideals and the risks he would take for the power her yearned for. He took power for granted. He was wrong. Someone beside me gasped, but I could no longer respond. I fell, and suddenly I was falling through space, the stars streaking by as I plummeted. I could do nothing.

Nothing but feel the anger burning within me, and the absence of my other self. Where was my spectre? Was she saving Hei?

Everything faded except the memory of my brief encounter with his lips. I hoped she would save Hei. I hoped she would ruin them all.


End file.
